My Game
by Faermage-KH Junkie
Summary: We faced him down on his golden throne, determined to win and get our futures back, once and for all... -MAJOR TWEWY spoilers; prequel fic-
1. My Game

I didn't have much time left. The clock on my hand was ticking out the seconds left of this death match, and it was almost empty. The moment it clicked to zero, my should-be opponent and I would both cease to exist, and we couldn't let that happen before we reached our destination.

Reapers sprung up all around us, but we sliced them down; we were nowhere near the championship match, but we were still much stronger, together, than any of these Reapers alone. My opponent-turned-partner and I shared a quick high-five of victory before we were off again, running desperately through the twisted maze that was the Shibuya underground.

We made it with only seconds left, but in this room, we were safe – _his_ boastful declaration that any who reached his throne room within the time would have their timers shut down was now in full force.

His eyes narrowed at us, and we stared up at him, my partner and I standing side-by-side.

He was lavish on his throne, wearing his true form that all might see his majesty – the Composer, the Judge of Souls, reclining on a throne of solid gold that glimmered with the light cast by his form, created of pure energy. Eyes that seemed to carry the knowledge of the world were set in that almost-featureless face, and it grinned mercilessly at us. A voice that seemed to come from everywhere around them spoke.

"_**Foolish mortals,"**_ it said, and my partner trembled slightly. I reached out and grabbed his hand – a gesture of comfort and the only thing I had left to give. In person, the voice was the most frightening thing I had heard in my life. _**"You have come to challenge me for my throne, have you not?"**_

"Of course we have!" my partner shouted bravely. "We've come to end your reign of tyranny!"

My partner had been aspiring to be a poet, before his death. It was occasionally obvious.

The Composer laughed, leering down at us with his ageless eyes.

"_**You, end **_**me**_**?"**_ He laughed again – he, not it, I eminded myself – and leveled his gaze on me. _**"And you too, Joshua? Was being a Reaper too much for you, little boy? You, with your sick, diseased body… couldn't make it as a Reaper, couldn't hack it in the Games… now you think you can kill a god?"**_

If he thought to upset me or my partner with his words, he was badly mistaken. In death, my weakness wasn't a thing that bothered me – it made combat difficult, but no more. The wasting sickness that had claimed my life was gone, now, and only its aftereffects remained. And my partner already knew that I had once been a Reaper.

I met those terrible, terrible eyes. "You are no god!" I cried, feeling the energy of the Psychs I'd been given fill me. "You're nothing but a bully, fat and lazy on the throne, who's abandoned his position for his own entertainment! You say you are the judge of souls… but this? This so-called 'court' is a joke!" My fists clenched at my sides, and anger only seemed to boost my abilities.

A 'prodigy', my mentor in the Games had called me. The ability to use so many Psychs, and so well, was nigh unheard of.

"This ends _NOW!_" cried my partner, and he leaped at the Composer.

The fight itself was a long, dragging battle, filled with moments of terror and moments of triumph… but for every small victory, it seemed our opponent only got stronger. Somehow, our life forces had become linked – whenever he received a strike, my own energy dropped a little lower, and I had precious little to spare. The Composer called Noise to his side, and we destroyed them to strike at him directly; Reapers joined the battle and were defeated as well. A pile of bodies lay around us, broken, but not completely destroyed, and we still fought the Composer.

I could feel something changing, the balance of power shifting, and suddenly, the world split in half, my partner disappearing. I couldn't see him, but from his effect on my life force, I could tell he was still there. Soon, the Composer began to tire. Perhaps he existed in two worlds – I wondered. His powers struck me, harder and harder, but he was weakening, I just knew it. I felt my Partner's energy filling me, and we struck out together.

The Composer fell to one knee, his radiance flickering like a cheap candleflame.

"_**H-how?"**_ he demanded of us; my Partner stood behind him, and we both glared down at his dying form. _**"How could you do it? HOW?"**_

His radiance left him, to reveal what appeared to be a normal human man, in his mid twenties. His eyes were filled with hatred and agony.

"This is _our_ Game now," was my response.

He gasped with breath, the echo gone from his voice. "You are fools," he spat at us. "There can _be_ only one Composer. You must choose… choose which of you should gain my power. But be warned – you've only doomed yourselves." He laughed weakly. "The Composer may never again live as a human."

My partner and I looked across at each other, eyes meeting.

"I'll do it," he told me.

I closed my eyes, shook my head, and smiled sadly. "No, Shirou," I replied. "This is _my_ duty. I'm the one who convinced you along; I'm the one who wanted this."

"But, Joshua! What about your family?" he demanded. "Your… your parents… You wanted to see them again, so much!"

I felt tears on my face. "Shirou, I've known since I was very young that I was going to die. You haven't come to terms with that yet." I put my hand on his shoulder. "I have nothing left to live for; you have your dreams – your poetry, your baby sister, your girlfriend… go, Shirou. That world holds nothing for me."

Then I felt it. An amazing power, welling up within my Soul, as the old Composer died and the one who defeated him was passed his power – and that successor, that heir, was me. I knew in that moment what I had to do to return my friend to life; I let the power grow and swell within me, burning away the physicality of my body, and I took my friend's soul in my hands and returned it to the world, with a few creative adaptations to make it as if he had never left.

_**"Goodbye,"**_ I whispered, hearing in my voice that same duality that had once belonged to the Composer before me.

With the pure force of Imagination, I spun my body back into place, covering the glory that my predecessor had been so eager and so proud to show off. It was false, a shell, but at least it was not the shape I had come to hate, staring at it from below in a pile of the broken bodies that I had been forced to leave there by cruel malice.

I heard approaching footsteps, and I raised my head to glare at the door – but instead of a Reaper, I saw an amiable-looking man standing in the doorway. Our eyes met, and I felt certain knowledge shock through me – as I had become the Composer, so too was this man even higher than I, and possibly even something I might someday become.

"So," he said, a smile in his voice and interest in his eyes. "So… the Game changes."

I nodded. "The Game will change for certain. It's my Game now."

* * *

><p><em>AN: I hope you enjoyed this little look into Joshua's past, or at least my version of it. A large inspiration for this is a series of roleplays that I did with the Black Scepter writing team - the idea that Joshua's predecessor ran a cruel, gladiatorial-style Game comes from - I believe - Mark of that team, whereas the fic itself was inspired by - though not entirely based on - a roleplay I did privately with Michael. The idea that Joshua died of a terminal disease, or that he was a Reaper before becoming a Player, is something that I came up with myself, however, to add an extra area of depth and interest to the character. Let me know what you think in a review! ~Miri  
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	2. Your Assistant

**-Kuroko Sashiro-**

He stood there, surrounded by a pile of bodies with tearstains on his cheeks, and there was just something terrible about his lavender-grey eyes. When they met mine, it was like an electric shock went through me – a grave purpose, and the heavy weight of compassion.

My companion, the man who had brought me here, cracked his neck while inspecting the young man who stood in front of us.

"Well, then," he said, following his cryptic statement to the boy, "it looks like there's a change of management around here. Kuroko," he said, addressing me, "meet the Composer – your new boss."

His eyes went to the man who'd brought me, and his face lit with puzzlement and recognition. "Mr. H," he said quietly. "I almost didn't recognize you. What are you doing…" He paused. "No," he continued, "no, I think I continued that one word too far. Mr. H, what are you?"

My companion smiled, and everything about his demeanor changed. Where he had appeared a harmless, wise but absentminded professor before, now there was a quality of danger to him. It wasn't evil; no, anything but. He began to blur, lose focus, but the boy took a step back, eyes widening in wonder, as though he could see perfectly clearly. Part of me wondered what he was seeing; as soon as I did, for a brief moment, I saw. White wings; a corona of energy; and then suddenly, the man beside me was simply a man again, though that air of power still lingered in his expression and posture.

"Call me the Producer," was his reply.

The boy, whose name I still didn't know, shook his head slightly, then turned to me. Our eyes met again, and again, I felt the knowledge of power, purpose, and compassion.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Kuroko," I replied. "Kuroko Sashiro. I…" I shook my head, still standing back, quietly overshadowed by the man called 'Mr. H'.

He shook his head. "You're a Reaper, correct?"

"Sort of," I replied. "I… I don't really understand all of what's going on. He explained the basics, but…"

The boy – the Composer – gave the older man, Mr. H, a scathing look, one I wouldn't have dared give him after what I had seen. He shrugged.

"There wasn't time to explain much," he told the boy. "I gave her the basic information I gave you, the first time we met."

He relaxed slightly, but shook his head. Deliberately, he started towards me; I took a step back, clutching my coat around me. He stopped.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said calmly, and I could tell he was telling the truth. "My name is Joshua."

"You run the Game," I said. "You make the rules."

He shook his head. "I didn't make _these_ rules," he replied, gesturing at all the bodies that lay around him. I saw, to my surprise, that they were all breathing; he hadn't killed any of them, despite the glowing form of what looked like a sword in his hand. He must've realized that he'd been carrying it, because it dissipated, flowing back into the pin in his hand, which he dropped into a pocket. "I'm sorry," he said. "I… it's all somewhat of a shock to me, too."

I nodded.

"Listen, Joshua," said Mr. H, turning towards him with a serious expression. "The rules of Shibuya's Game are tangible things, linked to the Composer who created them. When a new Composer rises, the Rules are rewritten as Shibuya itself responds to his will and personality. To truly change the Game, however, you need to consciously write those rules you wish to create. The knowledge and ability you need to do so passed on with the Composer's power, but you need to act soon. The Composer's residence is in the Shibuya River." He sighed, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. "I have to leave – I have other business to attend to – but if you need me, you know where to find me. Take care of Kuroko, Josh; she's got a lot of potential."

I looked back and forth between the two of them, but Josh shook his head.

"Wait," he said. "Just what is your role in all of this? You're my boss, correct?"

"Somewhat. Think of me as a supervisor, and advisor – a guardian Angel, if you prefer." He cocked his head, as if listening to something, before mumbling to himself, "Yes, yes, I'm coming!"He blurred again, then vanished in a spark of light.

There was a strange look on Joshua's face; I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I can do that," he murmured. "I… know how to do what he just did."

"Just by watching him?"

He shook his head, placing a hand over his heart. "It feels as if I've always known, somehow… part and parcel of being Composer, I suppose."

The way that Mr. H had explained it to me, the Composer had sounded like some form of god; his uncertain tone and somewhat disturbed expression couldn't be further from the image I'd formed. I stepped forward out of the shadows of the room and tentatively put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"If it helps," I said, "I didn't have any clue what I was getting into, either."

He looked up to meet my eyes, seeming shocked at the sudden contact. "What?"

I looked down at the ground. "They tried to take my sister away. They tried to take us both. Mr. H told us that we weren't safe; he told us we had abilities beyond the normal, that mine were the greatest. He told me that if I agreed to work for the Composer, maybe my sister could grow up normal."

"Abilities?" His question was quiet and understanding.

I closed my eyes. "That man – Mr. H – told me my father wasn't human."

His eyes widened, then narrowed again. "Your father was a Reaper. But… I thought they all hated humans and Players. Why else would they choose to be what they are?"

"Not all of them, evidently," I said, removing my coat to reveal a legacy I'd only recently discovered, and wasn't even close to understanding. A single wing, two-dimensional, but alive.

"Half of a Reaper's power," he murmured to himself, absentmindedly circling me. "Fascinating…"

I couldn't help but feel as if I were being _studied,_ although…. It was pretty obvious that I was. Still, it didn't feel _hostile. _Just… calculating.

"I wonder how it works," he said quietly as he came back around. "Is it even possible for Reapers to have children? But it has to be. You're living proof."

I nodded. "I didn't even know," I told him. "But…. My dad left one day. He never came back. Ever since then, it feels like… there was something wrong, with me, with my sister… with life." I crossed my arms, hugged myself. "I never thought it would turn out to be a secret this big…"

"It's possible you sensed the passing of your father's power," he told me, still studying me, seemingly careful not to meet my eyes. "It's also possible that after a family member's death… any family feels like its falling apart."

I nodded. "Mr. H found me three days ago. He said that something was coming for us. I had it stronger than my sister did – if I agreed to serve the Composer, my sister could live out her life in peace. Both of us would forever be safe from whoever was hunting us."

"Hunting you…"

"He said… there were people who thought we were dangerous. A foot in each world, not tied to either one."

He paused, studying me again. His gaze lingered on the single wing Mr. H's powers had brought forth, the single, missing piece of my life… my hidden life.

It was hard to believe that man; that my sister and I were something other than completely human wasn't anything I'd ever expected. But when he used whatever strange power belonged to him, returned that power to me that I'd been missing, told me I could save Kumiko… I had no choice at all but to follow his lead. A lead that had brought me here, to this person, this boy with his incredible determination and hidden power.

"Kuroko," he said to me, finally, "let's become partners. Together, we'll make a new Game. A _fair_ Game. And the world will be a better place for it…"

His eyes met mine, and again, I felt the shock of his _purpose._ He smiled warmly, held out a hand, and I took it.

"That it will."

_AN: Sorry this took so long to get up! I decided to add some more to this, because there's still more of Joshua's story I want to explore. Each new chapter will be narrated by a different character, as you can see here - Once I run out of characters, I'll probably recycle narrators, based on who's the important character in the story. This chapter introduced Kuroko, Josh's assistant... I wonder who the next narrator, and important character, will be? You'll just have to read more.._

_Also. Tonsa thanks to my beta reader, SilverWingedGentleman, for his pointers on this chapter. I hope this is up to spec!  
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